The Order of the Basilisk
by DarkSmokePuncher
Summary: When the Chamber of Secrets is unleashed, four students decided to attempt a unity between the Houses for the first time in centuries. Now an year later, three of them are graduating and they need someone to replace them. AU, starts from end of PoA and runs throughout GoF. A world changed by the difference of one hour.


**Author's note: **A side project I've been working on in my spare time. Yes, there will be one OC in this story. It's part of the funny idea I had. Some reviewers made an excellent point about it and you're right. Thank you for that. =]

**Summary: **When the Chamber of Secrets is unleashed, four students decided to attempt a unity between the Houses for the first time in centuries. Now an year later, three of them are graduating and they needsomeone to replace them. AU, starts from end of PoA and runs throughout GoF. A world changed by the difference of one hour.

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter saga and all of its characters belong to their rightful mistress and supreme overlord, J.K. Rolling. Me? I'm just a crazy Muggle.

**Enjoy !~**

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**The Order of the Basilisk**

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**Prologue**

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Sometimes it was the simple things in life that made it fun. Or in this case, funny. Harry Potter wouldn't outright admit he had the best life a thirteen year old could want, yet despite everything that had happened to him, despite the elation he had felt for the whole of thirty minutes at the prospect of living with his Godfather only to be taken away in less than thirty seconds, despite another approaching summer with the Dursley's, he could hardly suppress his laughter at this moment.

Watching a red faced Draco Malfoy almost choke on his anger and splutter empty promises to anyone who cared to listen (in this case the humble audience of Crabbe, Goyle and one Pansy Parkinson) could do that to anyone. Harry briefly wondered what would happen if he went to Malfoy and told him he was the one responsible for Buckbeak escaping. His imagination, in particular the side that had been destined for greatness in the House of Slytherin provided an image of an exploding head. This time Harry decided to have mercy on his body and stopped suppressing his laughter.

"What's so funny, Harry?" came from a red-headed best friend known by the name of Ronald Weasley.

"Nothing, nothing. Just happy thoughts," Harry replied through tears.

"Happy thoughts?" the confused voice of bushy-haired best friend Hermione Granger was the one responsible for this question.

"Yeah, with everything that's happened, I think happy thoughts are the best course of action," Harry replied with a cheerful, if a bit lopsided smile.

Hermione and Ron shared a look of worry before the former spoke, "Harry.. Want to talk about it?"

"Hey! Those are my happy thoughts, get your own!" Harry replied. His attempt at a joke did nothing to lessen Hermione's worried look and he let out a sigh. So much for looking at things on the bright side. Then again, he was quite fortunate to have friends like her and Ron who always sifted through his bullshit. "I was just thinking what would happen if Malfoy knew it was us who freed Buckbeak," he relented.

Both Ron and Hermione lifted a brow and looked towards the Slytherin table. "Just think about that little red face of his exploding," Harry elaborated, making Ron outright laugh, while Hermione contained herself in a smile and shaking of her head.

"Come on, let's go out for a bit," Harry stood up from the Gryffindor table and headed for the door, followed by his two friends. "What's the plan for today?" he asked.

"Hmm.. Take a relaxing stroll around the castle grounds?" Hermione suggested.

Both Harry and Ron grimaced. At the same time, there wasn't much else to do at the moment. All exams had finished, the Dementors were gone, the final dinner along with the House Cup Ceremony would be in two days and leaving Hogwarts would be in three. They had spent the time talking about what had happened this year and exploring the castle, including some of the secret passages from the Marauder's Map. This would be another uneventful day then.

"All right," it seemed Harry had spoken too soon, since there was a familiar voice heard from behind them.

"Potter!" They turned around to see Percy Weasley, Head Boy of Hogwarts approaching them. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

"Uh.." Harry shared a look and confusion with his friends. "Sure, what's up?"

"In private," Percy elaborated as he stood in front of them, giving subtle glances to Hermione and Ron. Harry hesitated and the Head Boy continued, "It might take a bit, but I'm sure you can find my brother and Miss Granger after we are finished."

Harry let out a sigh and nodded. Great, what had he gotten himself into this time? He gave his best friends a final look of defeat and followed Percy. They didn't walk for long as Percy opened the door to one of the first floor classroom. He waited for Harry to get inside before he made sure no one had followed them and closed the door. Harry saw him apply a locking and a silencing charm, on top of a few others he didn't recognize.

"Let's have a seat," Percy motioned towards a desk, where he conjured two chairs and sat on the side normally occupied by a teacher. Harry sat as well and a moment of slightly awkward silence settled. Well, for Harry it was very awkward, while Percy seemed completely relaxed as he observed the much younger wizard.

"How are you doing, Harry?" Percy asked.

Harry's brows shot up and a feeling of unease settled in his stomach. Out of the Weasley clan, Harry had interacted the least with Percy. They weren't even on a first name basis and this show of concern was.. unsettling.

"Um.. I'm doing good."

"It's been a hectic year, with the Dementors and Sirius Black after you," Percy said. "I've heard you had problems with them at the beginning."

Harry did his best not to react at the mention of his Godfather's name. The feeling of unease only grew further in the pit of his stomach. Did Percy suspect something? "I've learnt to deal with them," he answered.

"Indeed, I've heard you know the Patronus charm. That is very impressive for a third year."

Harry shrugged. "Professor Lupin helped me a lot with it," he said quietly. He was getting more and more uncomfortable with this small talk. He noticed Percy was still observing him with a very concentrated look. He really doubted this was what the older Weasley wanted to talk about, especially since Ron and Hermione could've been present for it.

Percy let out a sigh and finally skipped to the point, "Harry, there is something I need to talk to you about. It is very important and very secret."

"Okay.." Harry's brows were furrowed as he answered hesitantly.

"You don't have to accept and you're free to leave at any time. But I need your word, I need you to promise me you won't talk about this to anyone no matter if you accept or decline. Not even Miss Granger or my brother."

During his short life and especially his last three years in Hogwarts, Harry had developed a sort of a sense for these things. A sense that was screaming at him to leave right now and forget about this conversation ever happening. But then his curiosity, fueled by the look of seriousness that Percy was giving him, and coupled with his Gryffindor personality were rooting him in place. He really considered things. There were only three days until he left Hogwarts. Whatever this was, he doubted it would have that big of an impact.

"All right," he finally answered. Percy's look urged him to continue, "I promise I won't mention whatever we talk about to anyone."

Percy smiled. It was a big change from the older Weasley's normal serious expression.

"Good."

**!~¡**

Daphne Greengrass poked her breakfast once again as she absentmindedly listened to the conversation on the Slitherin table. It was nothing new really, even if it was slightly amusing to watch Draco burst a vein over the hippogriff thing. Most of her classmates were also paying various degrees of attention, with the exception of Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle of course, who were giving their complete attention. When it came to Malfoy, it was always something involving crying back to his Daddy. Even if the shared opinion was it was his own damn fault the hippogriff had attacked him.

Dapthne knew better though. She had been there when it happened and she had seen Malfoy's eyes right beforehand. He had done it all on purpose. He had gone against the teacher's instructions and put himself in harm's way, just so there could be an accident he could go and cry to Daddy about. There had even been the added bonus of delaying the Slytherin versus Gryffindor Quidditch game to more favourable weather conditions, although she doubted that had been part of his plan.

Draco suddenly went silent, which made Daphne look up at him. His eyes were staring across the hall and she turned around to see they were following Harry Potter and his flunkies. She managed to suppress a snort but did roll her eyes. Of course it was Potter. He had been the blasted reason for the whole hippogriff fiasco in the first place. Not for the first time Daphne wondered what was it that tightened Malfoy's screws so much when it came to Potter. It was a heated back and forth that had been going for the past three years and judging from Draco's intense look, would keep going in the next four. Probably even afterwards. In her opinion, if Draco couldn't stop thinking about him, he should just go and kiss him to get it over with and spare everyone the stupid drama. Then again, going by his habit of running to his father like a Daddy's Little Princess, maybe it was up to Potter to take the first step. She masked her sudden desire to laugh out loud with a snort and a shaking of her head.

"Something wrong, Daphne?" Tracey Davis, one of her female classmates asked her. Daphne didn't have a chance to answer since another voice spoke behind her.

"Miss Greengrass," the voice said and when she turned around she saw it belonged to Gemma Farley, a seventh year prefect. A tall black haired witch with piercing dark eyes. "I need to speak to you for a moment. If you could follow me." The prefect did not wait for her response and headed for the exit. Daphne let out a sigh and scrambled to keep up. She didn't miss the questioning looks from her classmates. After all, Daphne Greengrass wasn't one to get into trouble.

She followed the prefect to the second floor, banishing all thoughts of what this could be about. She was sure she would learn soon enough and it wasn't a good idea to go into a conversation with another Slytherin after being nervous or worried. She had folded her arms under her chest and was keeping all of her walls up, her face and eyes showing nothing but impassiveness and boredom directed towards the outside world.

They went to an empty classroom where Gemma motioned for her to get in and sit on one of the desks. Afterwards the seventh year cast several charms on the door before much to Daphne's surprise sat right next to her. There was only a small moment of silence before Gemma took a deep breath in, let it out and finally spoke.

"My last time in this classroom, after seven years in Hogwarts," Gemma said. "Probably the last time I will see it, unless I do manage to come back one day to teach."

Daphne said nothing as she was leaning back and looking at the older girl, who was facing the front of the classroom.

"For the most part they have been rather normal, with the exception of the past two years of course. I don't think there has been this much excitement in the past 50 years even." Gemma was silent for a bit before she continued. "I was really hoping we could've won the House Cup for my final year, but it seems that is especially hard when Quidditch is playing such a big role in the points dynamic and our team.. Well.." she didn't finish.

There was silence again and Daphne permitted herself to muse for a moment what this could be about, until Gemma turned to her and looked her in the eyes for the first time.

"May I call you Daphne?" the older girl asked.

Daphne allowed a slender brow to lift up in a very slight show of surprise. "You may. May I call you Gemma?" she asked in return.

The older girl smiled and nodded. "Thank you Daphne. There is something I need to talk to you about. It is of a rather confidential nature, so I would appreciate it very much if you gave me an oath this conversation will not be shared with anyone, no matter of your decision at the end."

Daphne's brows formed a slight frown as she immediately went on guard. Seeing that, Gemma let out a small chuckle.

"Ah of course, a Slytherin asking you something like that would always be a cause for concern. How about this then," she lifted her wand as it started to glow. "I swear on my magic this conversation will be in no way directly harmful to you, Miss Daphne Greengrass, or to anyone from your family."

This would've been a cause for alarm bells in Daphne's mind were it not for the seriousness of the oath. She considered declining almost immediately, but the older girl's eyes stopped her. There was an unspoken need in them, coupled with.. concern? Taking a deep breath Daphne took out her own wand.

"I swear on my magic to keep this conversation a secret unless otherwise instructed by you," she said.

Gemma's smile grew even more and she let out a sigh, leaning back as well. "Thank you again, Daphne. Now, you remember last year when the Chamber of Secrets fiasco happened?"

Daphne nodded. Of course she did, it had been quite the frightening experience. She had made sure to always walk around Hogwarts with someone and had even spent one night in the Library, because there would've been no one with her while walking around the corridors.

"After the second attack, I was approached by three other students. Each one was from a different House. They wanted to meet somewhere quiet and have a talk about what was happening with the school and the students. At first I was weary, but since two of them were actual prefects and I knew them, I decided to go along with them."

"They wanted to form a club. A pact of sorts between the Houses to find the culprit behind the Chamber of Secrets." Gemma laughed at Daphne's expression. "Yes, that was my reaction at first as well. But of course, since the three other Houses were going to cooperate, I couldn't let Slytherin be left out so I agreed. Each one of us was supposed to look through the Houses for any clues that could point us in the right direction."

"I didn't do anything like that at first, I just let them think I did. Even if our house was the biggest suspect, at least until it was learnt Harry Potter was a Parseltongue. I just played along and there were more attacks. I didn't really care, since none of the students from our House had been affected.. Until I found a little girl in the Library one night, too afraid to go back to the dorms," Gemma looked at her as she said that and Daphne did everything in her power not to blush in embarrassment. It was in vain and she looked away, until she felt Farley touch her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've kept my promise and I haven't said a word about it to anyone. But at that moment I realized that my housemates _were_ actually affected by what was going on. So I decided to cooperate for real. I went through everyone's things in hopes of finding anything that could give us a clue what was causing it, I even checked throughout the Slytherin Library for any clues of the location of the Chamber."

Gemma paused and took another breath, "Of course, there was nothing. So we tried going at it from another angle. We looked into the last incident, did you know Moaning Myrtle was the one who died when the Chamber was opened last time?" she asked and Daphne shook her head in surprise. "Well, we went to her and asked her about it. All she remembered was seeing a pair of big yellow eyes. We also looked into what could have caused those petrifactions until we finally discovered only a Basilisk could do something like that. It made sense, it was the King of Snakes and Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue, so his heir would've been able to control it."

"You knew?!" Daphne couldn't mask the shock in her voice or her face.

"We did. And can you guess what we did about it?" Gemma asked.

"Went to the Headmaster?"

"Yep! We showed him all the evidence and asked for Harry Potter to be immediately detained and questioned with Veritaserum."

"Because he is a Parseltongue," Daphne said.

Gemma let out a sigh and shook her head, "That was our mistake. The Headmaster became defensive and told us not to make baseless accusations. We also realized he had known a Basilisk was the creature that went around petrifying students all along. He was a Professor when the Chamber had been opened 50 years ago, of course he would realize it."

"And he did nothing?" Once more Daphne couldn't keep her shock.

Farley shook her head again. "No.. So we decided to take matters into our hands and started following Potter around, along with his friends. He went everywhere with them so it made sense that if he was the heir, they would know as well. It was quite the surprise when we found out they weren't involved. It was Penelope Clearwater that did it actually."

"The Head Girl?" Daphne asked.

"Back then she was just a prefect like me. She was the student from Ravenclaw in our group. Penny was following Granger on the night they were attacked. After going into the library, Granger had ran into her and had told her a Basilisk was the perpetrator and to walk around with a mirror. It was a good idea, one we hadn't thought about and the reason Penny survived. Of course, after that night we stopped suspecting Potter. Everyone knew how close he and Granger were, there was no way he could've hurt her. So we were out of suspects, we had lost one of our own and it seemed like the school would've been closed soon."

Daphne leaned in, completely entranced by the story. There were many rumors about what had happened during her second year and hearing the story firsthand was incredibly interesting. There was also a nagging thought in her mind that in truth, if Potter really was the one responsible and he had wanted to throw people off, then attacking his best friend would've been the best way. The Slytherin way.

Gemma noticed her attention and her smile returned. "What I'm about to tell you is known by very few people. The girl that was abducted was Ginny Weasley. She was also the one that opened the chamber and unleashed the Basilisk on the school."

"What?! How is that possible, wasn't she just a first year?"

"She was, but apparently she was possessed. She had found a diary in the beginning of the year and had started writing in it. However, the diary contained the ghost of the student who had opened the chamber 50 years ago. So he had started taking control of her and using her."

Daphne's eyes were wide at the revelation. She had never heard something like this. Gemma let out a chuckle and continued, "Oh, it gets better. Harry Potter was the one that saved her. Apparently he had found the entrance to the Chamber with Ronald Weasley and Gilderoy Lockhart and they went in. The Professor tried to Obliviate them and escape but he hit himself. Then Potter went into the chamber alone, defeated the Basilisk and escaped with Ginny."

"No way," Daphne said, shaking her head. "There is no way something like that happened."

Farley let out another chuckle, "That was my reaction when I heard the story the first time. But then it made sense, Potter was a Parselmouth so he would've been able to open the Chamber."

"How did he do it? And how do you even know about all of this?!"

"Well, we don't know how he did it, since he was pretty tightlipped about it. As for how we knew.. Percy Weasley is the student in our group from Gryffindor. He learnt the whole story from his sister and brother and then he shared it with us."

Daphne leaned back again and looked to the front of the classroom, her mind going over the whole story she had just heard. "Wow.." she heard herself saying.

"Indeed," Gemma giggled again. Daphne immediately schooled her features back to their usual state.

"Well, the reason I've told you all of this is so you know how our group got together. Even if we hadn't actually managed to accomplish anything, it still felt like we had been close. It felt good cooperating in such a way and we started asking ourselves why were the Houses so closed off to each other? So we decided to keep meeting this year as well, once every week. We also decided to try and bridge some form of relationship between each of the Houses. Unfortunately, this is my last year and it's the same for Penny and Percy. So we need people to replace us."

Now Daphne realized what this was about. "Wait, why me? I'm just a third year, wouldn't it be better to get someone older?"

Farley gave her a sad smile."That's what we did this year. We tried talking with the older students, tried sneaking in some of our ideas. It worked all right with Hufflepuff and to some degree with Ravenclaw, but well.. You can imagine Slytherin and Gryffindor's reactions to warmer relations with each other. And who's to blame them, the rivalry has existed for years, decades, perhaps even centuries. All of the new students see the treatment and demeanor of the older ones and then follow in their footsteps. A bit too late, we realized if we wanted the Houses to have better relations with each other, we needed to start small. No pun intended," she winked which showed it may have been intended.

"Why not a first or second years then?"

"I'm sure you remember how you felt during those years. All alone in this completely new place, the only people to give you companionship and support are your house and classmates. No, it's during and after the third year that students start to be more confident and to feel like Hogwarts is like a home. It would've been best if we brought you in sooner, but I'm sure even as a fourth year you would be able to accomplish what we couldn't."

**!~¡**

Penelope patiently observed the boy in front of her while he was thinking. She had brought him to her Head Girl suite and they were currently sitting at her table. His elbows were on it and his hands were joined, with the tips of the fingers touching each other right in front of his face, as he was leaning in.

"So let me get this straight - for the past two years you've been a part of some secret club? And the goal is for each of the members to try and encourage friendship between the Houses? And it all started because of the Chamber of Secrets, when you had almost died?" the boy asked.

"That's right," Penelope answered calmly.

"And now that you're graduating, you want me to take your place and continue your work, so to speak? To do what exactly?"

"Go to the meetings, encourage friendship between the houses, especially in the younger students. Things like that."

"Why do we care?" the boy asked.

"Well, I didn't at first. But Percy dragged me into it and after a while.. It was pretty fun, going around trying to figure out who was behind the Basilisk attacks, following Potter and his friends; then this year when we were thinking ways to promote relationship between the Houses."

"Isn't Academic Excellence the most important thing in Ravenclaw?" the boy lifted a brow.

"That wasn't really impacting my grades. And grades aren't really the most important thing."

The boy gave her a look that clearly asked if she was feeling all right. While he didn't care all that much about grades either, he was definitely the exception in Ravenclaw, not the norm.

Penelope simply shrugged, "I told you, it was fun. It's also been a fun year, meeting with the others and making plans about the Houses. We really should've focused our efforts on the younger students, but no use crying over spilt milk now."

"So you want me to take your place and.. What? Influence the youngsters? Manipulate my classmates?"

"I thought you'd have jumped at the prospect, August," Penelope said. "You already have some connections inside Ravenclaw. But if you think it's a waste of time.."

"Oh, no no no, don't get me wrong - you had me at "secret club". I was just curious what was expected of me," the boy said quickly. "And please don't call me August!"

Penelopy giggled. She loved making him whine like that. It was just too cute sometimes. "Honestly? That's what the others wanted to do, I just went along for the ride. It's up to you and the remaining members to decide what to do from next year onwards. A tighter Hogwarts would be nice, but at the same time competition is also vital for development. As long as you stay in the club or at least have a replacement ready, so there is always a connection between the houses.."

"In case something like the Chamber of Secrets happens again?" the boy asked.

"For example," Penelope shrugged.

"Why are you keeping it a secret?"

"I'm sure you can guess that by yourself," she winked at him. And she was right. The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was well known and Ravenclaw didn't really care for cooperating with the other houses, just crushing them into the ground with its Academic achievements. Who even cared about Hufflepuff anyway?

"All right.. Then why me? I clearly remember you calling me a manipulative, cold-hearted bastard once. You've also wondered on multiple occasions how did I trick the Sorting Hat to put me in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin.. I find it surprising you want me to be a part of something like this."

"I said that before I actually got to know you. You're not really that cold-hearted." The look she received made her laugh. August managed to do that quite often. It was a real shame he was only a third year. Oh and that she was already dating Percy.

It had been quite a surprise for her when before the second visit to Hogsmeade this year a third year she had never seen until that moment had asked her out on a date in the village. She had found him very cute and endearing and had humored him that one time before she crushed his little heart. It had also been really funny to watch Percy get his feathers ruffled by a thirteen year old.

Unfortunately the look of dejection August had given her did indeed touch something in her and Penelope realized even she wasn't that cruel. So after she had explained to him there was absolutely no chance for anything to happen, she agreed to be his friend. The two or three times she had snogged him senseless were purely for educational purposes. There was nothing wrong with preparing him for the future.

"So you chose me _because_ you want me to lie, cheat and plot?" there was a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Well, you will be dealing with both Slytherin and Gryffindor. I think it's in Ravenclaw's best interest if we are aptly represented," she smiled and winked at him. "Besides, you'd do it even if I told you not to."

**!~¡**

"You still haven't answered my question," Daphne frowned. "Why not Draco, he's the most popular?"

"Ha! Malfoy!" Farley let out a laugh. "Because _he_ would be open to cooperating with the other Houses. No, we both know in Slytherin it's not about who is the most popular and on the spotlight. It's all about who's in the shadows. Malfoy would be the perfect face to be at the front, but he hasn't actually done anything to show he's good at subtle manipulations, which would be needed in this type of group. You have to remember, this is also about keeping Slytherin's interests as well and he wouldn't be able to do that if he constantly fought with the other Houses."

While Daphne agreed with that, she disagreed with Farley's assessment of Draco's abilities. She didn't make a comment though, since the older girl continued. "I've watched you, Daphne. Ever since that night in the Library I've kept an eye on you. I've seen how you keep a wall around you, how you interact with everyone as if they are beneath you, but at the same time how you pull their strings and push their right buttons with just a few well chosen words. Pansy thinks you're her best friend while she's the at the head of your little gang just because you want her to be. Only Blaise Zabini may be really onto you and that's most likely because of his mother. But then he's even more unsociable and uncooperative than Malfoy. Truly, you are the best and only choice at the moment. You will at least interact with the others."

Here Farley's sad smile returned. She kept looking at Daphne, but the younger witch got the impression her eyes weren't really focused on her. "I think I can also guess how you're feeling in Slytherin.." Gemma said quietly. "I felt the same way, never really trusting anyone, always trying to figure out what the underlying game is.. For my first five years I can't really say I enjoyed Hogwarts that much. I didn't have any close friends or anyone I could really connect with. But since last year.." she trailed off. "Being a part of this pact has given me my happiest memories in Hogwarts. Especially this year when we weren't under the threat of a giant deadly snake. Penny and I actually have a lot in common and Percy's chivalry is very amusing at times. And our fourth member.." Gemma giggled.

Daphne chose not to comment, even if a part of her whispered that yes, the older witch was right, she was in fact lonely. Tracey Davis and Millicent Bulstrode were the closest thing to friends she had, but they weren't too close. It was a great risk to be really close with someone in Slytherin. The only thing Daphne truly had was her little games and manipulations with her classmates, the younger students and a few of the older ones.

"All right, what about the other members? Do you know who the replacements are going to be?" Daphne asked impassively.

**!~¡**

"Wow.." Harry finally said leaning back into his chair. While he felt a bit hurt that they had suspected him and had even followed him during his second year, he had to admit from their point of view he did look really suspicious. Not to mention he had suspected Malfoy on even less evidence so he could relate. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

"I can't believe Dumbledore knew about the Basilisk. Are you sure about that, Percy?" he asked.

"Well, not completely sure but.. He wasn't surprised at all when we told him about it. He just sounded.. detached when he congratulated us on our assumption. As if this was some sort of game and we had won something for reaching that conclusion.. Afterwards, I got really angry when Penny got petrified, but.. Well, if the Headmaster didn't want to lift a finger, then who would've.. We tried contacting the Board of Governors, but all they did was remove Dumbledore. They didn't believe us about the Basilisk either."

Harry shook his head, he had a hunch Lucius Malfoy had something to do with that. But then.. it couldn't be.. Right? Dumbledore wasn't really someone like that, was he?.. Yet, he had sent him his phoenix Fawkes. Harry had thought it was a very fortunate and timely gift but in truth a phoenix was the only creature immune to a Basilisk's deadly eyes. Not only that, but the antidote to Basilisk venom were actually phoenix tears. So it wasn't really far-fetched Dumbledore knew exactly what Harry would be facing. He also remembered the memory from Tom Riddle's diary.. The way Dumbledore had looked at Riddle when he had asked him if there was anything wrong.. As if he already knew or at least suspected Riddle was the one behind it. What if he had really known since then and had acquired a phoenix in the first place in case the Chamber was ever opened again?

These thoughts about Dumbledore became more and more unsettling for Harry. He really didn't want to believe something like that was possible, especially after the old Headmaster had helped them with saving Sirius a few nights ago. So instead, he decided to focus on what Percy had said about the lack of cooperation between the Houses. Excluding the rivalry with Slytherin, Harry barely interacted with anyone from Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff and the same could be said for most of the Gryffindors he knew. In fact, even in Gryffindor he only really had two very close friends.

"Do you really think I'm the right choice for this?" he found himself asking. "I mean, I haven't interacted that much with the younger students and there's only the Quidditch club for the older ones."

"If it had been last year, I would have picked Miss Granger," Percy chuckled which only unsettled Harry further. Somehow Percy having a sense of humour was a serious cause for alarm. "But then you saved my little sister and showed we were all wrong about you. And well.. You really embody a lot of the core qualities for a Gryffindor, a lot of our housemates do look up to you, especially the first and second years. You are the Boy-Who-Lived after all."

Harry frowned. That wasn't the thing he wanted people to judge him by.

"And see, this is the other reason. Even after everything you've achieved and your enormous fame, you are still a very humble person. You don't let things like that go to your head, even if you do have a bit of a temper," Percy said, as if reading his mind. That made Harry blush in embarrassment and look away. Maybe he should try and take care of said temper. "Besides, Miss Granger is your best friend. I'm sure she will provide a lot of assistance when you're dealing with the other Houses."

"I thought you wanted me to keep this a secret?" Harry asked confused.

"I do, but that's only for the moment. Next year you four could decide to expand that little club, like adding one more person from each house to act as your replacements or something. I strongly recommend something like that, it would definitely help with fostering good relationships."

Harry agreed that would be a good idea. He once again thought over everything that had been said until Percy spoke again, "So? Are you in then, Harry?"

"Um.. I'm not that sure I'm the best for this but.. Yes, I'm in," he said hesitantly.

Percy smiled and patted him on the head which froze Harry on the spot. The fact he had never received such shows of affection was only part of the reason for that. The other and bigger part was because it came from Percy Weasley of all people. Harry had never seen him do that even to his own brother, Ron. Saving his sister must have really gone a long way.

"I knew I could count on you, Harry. All I'm asking you is to keep an open mind, especially when it comes to Slytherin. We found Gemma to be a rather nice girl once we got to know her. I'm not saying it will be an easy ride from the beginning, quite the opposite in fact. But you'll manage."

Harry let out a smile. "So when is our first meeting?"

Percy returned it. "Right now actually. Let's go."

**!~¡**

The meeting itself was in an unused classroom on the fifth floor. Percy had told him it was normally used by the Wizard Card Collectors' Club, but with the end of the year coming, they wouldn't be meeting anymore. He also told him each time the location of their meetings was different since they didn't want people to notice them if they started using the same location all the time. Harry put a note in his mind about checking the Marauder's Map about suitable secret spots that could be used more permanently.

After they entered, Harry realized they were the last to arrive. Percy closed the door after them and locked it, putting various different charms on it. Then they approached the others who were silently observing them. For some reason, Harry had had the image of them sitting around a round table, but instead they were sitting at a large square one. It looked like each of the Houses had their own side and Percy sat on the last empty chair. Harry followed the example of the other non-sitting occupants of the room and stood behind Percy, slightly to the right.

"Sorry we're late, I hope you guys haven't waited long for us," Percy said.

"Not at all, I was the first here and the others arrived right before you did," a boy to the left spoke and Harry realized it was Cedric Diggory, the Quidditch Captain and Seeker from Hufflepuff. Despite him sitting, Harry knew he was a tall and well-built teenager from going against him in Quidditch. He had short dark brown hair and light grey eyes and some of the girls Harry knew used adjectives such as handsome, good-looking and silent when it came to him. Cedric noticed him and gave him a smile and a nod of recognition, which Harry returned.

"Shall we get started then?" the girl from Ravenclaw known as Penelope spoke and took out her wand. She was sitting across Percy and from what Harry had seen of her, she was a petite girl with a beautiful pale face, hazel eyes and long curly bright blonde hair, that was tide in a ponytail and flowed past her shoulder blades. She placed her wand at the middle of the table with the tip pointing to the right. The other three did the same and Harry saw the wands joined and formed a square, like the table.

"I'm so sad, this will be our last meeting in Hogwarts," came from the last girl, who Harry knew was Gemma Farley, a seventh year prefect from Slytherin. He had never actually spoken to her, but he had seen her before. She was a tall, striking woman with short straight hair in a bowl cut with the front locks reaching past her chin. She was fair-skinned and had a pair of dark beautiful eyes that surprised Harry when he saw tears at the corners. If he had not seen it for himself, he would have never thought it possible for a Slytherin to openly show emotion like that.

"Oh come on, Gem, we'll see each other during the summer," Penelope rolled her eyes. "I see you two have managed to find proper replacements."

At that Harry observed the other two standing students in the room. The one behind Farley was a fair-skinned girl with long straight blond hair that was parted by a headband and reached her shoulders. She also had piercing cold blue eyes that actually sent a shiver down his spine when he met them. She was a third year like him and even Harry knew the Ice Queen of Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass.

Her eyes lingered on his for just a second before they shifted to her left and Harry followed them to see a tall fair skinned boy with long curly dark hair that reached his shoulders. He had dark grey eyes with long eye-lashes, strong jaw and a very familiar face. The boy would have probably been considered as handsome as well and had a slight smirk on his face when their eyes met and he gave him a nod as well. Harry was surprised by it and quickly returned it, while trying to remember what he was called. He was a third year as well, but for some reason he just couldn't remember his name. Strangely, Gryffindor shared most of its classes with Slytherin and occasionally with Hufflepuff.

"You all have," Cedric brought him out of his thoughts with a happy tone. "I'm glad to see I won't have to look for other students again."

"You were the one that started this last year?" Harry found himself blurt out in surprise.

"Well, not by myself. I spoke with Percy first and he was skeptical at the beginning, but agreed to give it a try," Cedric chuckled.

"Then I spoke with Penny and afterwards we sought out Gem here, since she was a fellow prefect," Percy continued. "So are you guys all set for the summer, any special plans?"

"Oh yes, I got a reply from Charlie! Thank you for helping me with your brother, Percy! I'll be meeting him in Romania in a month and he agreed to give me a tour around some of the magical ruins," Gemma said excitedly.

"That's great! I'll be going with my father to watch the Quidditch World Cup Finals," Cedric said.

"Oh my father mentioned something about it, my family might be going as well. I guess I would see you there Cedric," Percy said.

"I'll be leaving for the United States in two weeks, I don't know if I'll be able to come back in time for that. I hope to see you guys there if I do," Penelope said, giving Percy a smile and a wink. "Anyway, we can continue the small talk later. I think it's time to pass it onto the others." She picked her wand and stood up, Percy and Farley doing the same. Harry was surprised at that but he found Percy grab his shoulder and motion for him to take his seat. Harry did that along with the other third years and after he saw them taking out their wands and placing them in the middle, he did the same, reforming the square.

"Now, I think introductions are in order," Farley said, touching Daphne's shoulder lightly. The girl folded her arms under her chest and leaned back fully into her chair, before she looked at each one of them with cold impassive eyes.

"Heiress to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass. I'm the new representative from the House of Slytherin."

Harry felt Percy's hand on his shoulder squeeze slightly and understood it was his turn. "Harry James Potter, representative from the House of Gryffindor."

"Cedric Diggory, representative from the House of Hufflepuff."

Finally, Penelope placed a hand on the black-haired boy's shoulder. "Don't "forget" to mention your first name, August," she said not-so-quietly, paying special attention to the quotation marks, which earned her a glare from the boy.

"Your name is actually August?" Daphne asked in a voice that held a mix of surprise and pity.

The boy let out an exasperated sigh with an unamused look on his face. "I was born on the first of August, all right? The women of my family aren't known for their sensibility at naming."

"Really?" Daphne asked skeptically.

"No idea, I've never actually met anyone from my family," he shrugged. "Head of Most Noble and Ancient House of Black and the representative of House Ravenclaw, August Black."

Harry's eyes widened. Now he realized why the boy's face looked a bit familiar. Even if his Godfather had looked terrible after his many years spent in Azkaban, there definitely was some similarity between the two Black's.

"Are you related to Sirius?" he asked.

"Sirius Black, the Azkaban escapee and the one responsible for the death of your parents?" the boy's dark eyes locked with his. Harry felt a bit of anger bristle in him at the accusation, but he had to remind himself the general populace didn't know of his Godfather's innocence. "Probably, but I don't know in what way. I don't know who my parents are so he might be an uncle or a cousin," the boy shrugged again.

Or a father, Harry added mentally. Did Sirius know about him?

"Well, it seems things are settled here. Try not to cause too much grief for Cedric," Percy said and headed for the door, followed by the other two girls.

"Oh and try to listen to him, he tends to have a pretty good judgment from time to time," Penny added with Gemma giggling before she closed the door.

Cedric chuckled as well after he reapplied the charms on the door. "Well, there's nothing that much for us to do or talk about. I'm sure your predecessors told you the purpose of our gatherings so I'd like for you all to think of ways to achieve it during the summer."

"What are we called?" August asked.

"Hmm?" Cedric looked at him with a bit of confusion.

"What's the name of our club?"

"Well uh.. We never really thought we needed one," Cedric said hesitantly.

"What?! We can't be a proper secret society without a name! How will people know what to call us?" August exclaimed disbelievingly, earning strange looks from both Harry and Daphne.

"But if it's a secret society why would people need to know of a way to call us.." the only female in the room pointed out.

"As we accomplish various things, people will start wondering who's responsible. Then when rumours start spreading, we'll need a proper name so people know it's us," August explained.

"Wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of us being secret?" Harry asked cautiously.

"It's just how it works with things like these. If we're a secret society, we need a secret name that everyone will recognize."

"I see," Daphne said calmly.

"Ah, I'm glad you understand!" August smiled at her.

Daphne nodded. Indeed, she understood perfectly. This guy was an idiot.

"All right then.. How about we all think on that as well during the summer break?" Cedric smiled at them. He couldn't say he was an expert on secret societies so if that's how things were supposed to work, he would just roll with it. He received nods with various degrees of enthusiasm. "Great!" he clapped his hands. "I hope you all have a wonderful summer. I'll contact you guys at the beginning of next year with date, time and location of our first meeting. It will probably be right after the opening ceremony."

Everyone stood up and picked their wands. There was a moment of awkward silence before Daphne headed for the door without saying a word. Harry and August looked at each other and did the same, with the Gryffindor giving a wave before he went out of the room. Cedric shook his head as he smiled. He waved his wand and the chairs and table disappeared. Those three certainly were very interesting individuals. He could already tell next year would be one he would remember for the rest of his life.

**!~¡**

**Author's musings: Wow.. I have to honestly say, I have never thought I'd write a story like this one. I'm not that experienced with Harry Potter stories, but a friend of mine asked me to check some things for him and then I asked him to recommend a few really good ones.. At some point this idea popped in my mind so I decided to try it out when relaxing from The Cure of Loneliness. Depending on how well it's received I might focus more than downtime on it.**

**My hope is this won't entirely turn into a retelling. Some of the main events will happen, but there will be changes. I will also do my best not to bash. I love humour, ridiculous situations and breaking reality.**

**I'm not an expert on the Harry Potter world. But I hope we have a nice funny adventure through it, even if things become sad or heavy at times. There will also be some silly romances I think.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and until next time!**

**Ta-ta !~**

**!~¡**


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